Editor’s Note: Today’s tribute to the work of AA Historian Glenn C. comes from leading recovery historian William L. (“Bill”) White, Emeritus Senior Research Consultant at Chestnut Health Systems. Readers of Points will recognize Bill as the author of the definitive history of recovery in the U.S., Slaying the Dragon, and the more recent Recovery Rising: A Retrospective of Addiction Treatment and Recovery Advocacyamong many, many other books and articles. For the past 25 years, his work has focused on mapping the pathways, styles, and stages of long-term addiction recovery, with attention to both recovering people and the industries and groups that serve them. Bill’s collected papers are at www.williamwhitepapers.com.

Bill White, Chestnut Health Systems

An early criticism of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was that its program of recovery was drawn primarily from the collective experiences of white men and thus unsuitable for people of color. Such declarations…